JEAN LAFITTE, La. — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney toured a flood-ravaged area of the Louisiana bayou Friday in the aftermath of the hurricane that disrupted his party's national convention in Florida.

Accompanied by his wife, Ann Romney, the candidate rode in an SUV past submerged gas stations and flooded homes in this Mississippi Delta community near New Orleans. In some places, the water was several feet deep.

Romney got out of the vehicle and had an informal roadside conversation with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and U.S. Sen. David Vitter, both Republicans.

“I'm here to learn and obviously to draw some attention to what's going on here, so that people around the country know that people down here need help,” he told the governor.

Jindal told the former Massachusetts governor about relief efforts by the Red Cross, Salvation Army and other organizations. Romney inquired about how many people were out of their homes or in shelters. “Did the water come from the sky, or the rivers, or the ocean?” he asked. The answer could not be heard.

Romney's visit triggered a harsh reaction from Democrats in Congress, who charged that his running mate Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman, has proposed a federal budget that would gut money needed to respond to disasters, such as Hurricane Isaac.

Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, said in a statement: “It is the height of hypocrisy for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to make a pretense of showing sympathy for the victims of Hurricane Isaac when their policies would leave those affected by this disaster stranded and on their own.”

President Barack Obama is planning his own visit to Louisiana on Monday to survey the damage wrought by Hurricane Isaac, now downgraded to a tropical depression swirling slowly across Arkansas, Missouri and other states. After speaking with Jindal on the side of the road, the Romney entourage drove for several miles through lower-income and middle-income neighborhoods.

The floodwaters have receded in some places, but extensive damage was evident. Along one row of houses on stilts, some residents were on porches and balconies.